SCOTS Project - www.scottishcorpus.ac.uk Document : 1428 Title : BBC Voices Recording: Glasgow Author(s): N/A Copyright holder(s): BBC SCOTS Project Content label: This document contains language which some may find offensive Audio transcription F1054: Okay, whenever you're ready. M1004: My name is George [CENSORED: surname], I'm the lifeboat officer of the Glasgow Humane Society, er, I'm sixty-one years of age and I'm living in the same house that I was born in. F1054: Where are you from, George? M1004: Glasgow, I'm from Glasgow. F1054: Brilliant. Ann? F1006: I'm George's sister, Ann. I'm a retired librarian, public libraries. And, like George, at the present moment, I'm sittin in the house I was born in, but I actually moved to a flat seven years ago, on the riverside, about two miles from here. F1005: Erm, Margaret [CENSORED: surname], I work for George, eh, the cleanin. And eh, come fae Glasgow. Erm. F1054: And you've lived there all your life, have you? F1005: Ah, most of ma life, uh-huh. //Right.// F1054: //Er, all friends, super.// Ehm, right, first of all, let's start with how you feel. Fair scunnered, at the moment, I bet, George, eh? [laugh] Let's say, let's start with the word for "annoyed", shall we? M1004: Aye, scunnered, aye, er it's no, scunnered's no quite annoyed, scunnered's fed up, annoyed's eh, cannae think o a word for annoyed, er anyway. Scunnered really means you're no just fed up, you're absolutely F1005: Pissed off, [inaudible]. M1004: //Aye, [laugh].// F1006: //[laugh]// F1054: //Dinna worry aboot// M1004: //Cheesed off, I heard something whispered there.// //Eh,// F1054: //usin swear words, cause in talkin about language it's totally normal.// F1006: //Disgusted, disgusted, disgusted.// F1054: Mmhm. //What about you, Ann, words for "annoyed"?// M1004: //Ba-// F1006: Disgusted, erm, scunnered is the best, if you're really feeling, really bad about something, I think scunnered is quite suitable. F1054: Good. Do you have any different words, Margaret? F1005: Ehm, pissed off. [laugh] //Uh-huh.// F1054: //That- that's a common one, yeah.// F1005: Er [inaudible]. F1054: That's alright. F1005: Ehm, is is what George says, an that, annoyed, scunnered. M1004: If I, if I get haud o these glaikit wee bachles that havenae turned up this morning they'll be scunnered, aye, they'll be, aye, mair than scunnered. [laugh] F1005: They'll be dead meat! //[laugh]// M1004: //[laugh]// F1006: //[laugh]// F1054: What does that mean, "glaikit wee battles"? M1004: [tut] Er, it's used to describe anybody that eh just er It's supposed to be derogatory, but it isnae really, you can, you can use it derogatory, but mostly in Glasgow it's used as a kind of joke wi people, eh, if they move slowly, if they're gettin older or eh just, I don't know. F1054: Ehm, can you say it again? M1004: Glaikit wee bachle. F1054: Bachle? M1004: Bachle. F1054: Ah. //[inaudible]// M1004: //Glaikit means, I think glaikit actually means squinty-eyed.// //Squ-, you know?// F1006: //Simple?// M1004: Aye, simple-lookin, aye. F1054: Mm. M1004: Just, aye. F1054: Good. Ehm, what about "pleased", opposite of annoyed. Words for that? F1005: Ehm, happy, excited, I don't know. [laugh] F1054: //[laugh]// M1004: //Fair chuffed. Chuffed. [claps hands]// F1006: //[laugh]// F1054: That's the one you'd use. And what about you, Ann? F1006: [laugh] I would have said happy, [laugh] but I think ma brother's put it into the best words. [laugh] //[laugh] Yes, yes.// F1054: //And mind, it's no, we dinnae have to use words that kind of seems u- unusual in any way, just things that folk would normally use, or [inaudible] remember it's a s- snapshot of how we speak, so dinnae feel obliged to try and come up wi something different.// Just say what you normally //say.// M1004: //Naw, we do, we do used chuffed quite a lot.// Oh aye, if you're chuffed wi something it means you're pretty pleased wi it, aye. F1054: And if you cannae think o something, that's significant too, because it just means that maybe this is the word we use now, cause of //television,// F1006: //Yes.// F1054: because o radio, we're all usin the same words. //What aboot tired?// F1006: //Yes.// Shattered. Shattered. If you're really tired. F1054: Mmhm. M1004: Knackered, aye. Wabbit. F1054: Wabbit? Wh- why would you use those different words, John? M1004: Wabbit is more, wabbit is more eh mentally tired. Knackered is physically tired. F1054: Yeah, that's good, that- [laugh] //[laugh]// F1005: //Ehm, exhausted.// F1006: Mm. F1054: Or you could, you couldnae say it that way, "exhausteed", rather than "exhausted". F1005: Exhausted. //[laugh]// F1054: //Yeah, interestin.// Different, isn't it? Ehm, cold? F1006: Shiverin? Ehm F1054: You wo- would you say "I'm pure shiverin"? F1006: Er, no, I've never used that expression, actually. I think I would tend to just say, "I'm feeling cold", or, and if it's very cold "I'm shiverin". F1054: Yeah. F1006: Ehm M1004: Freezin. [?]Can you stop me?[/?] F1054: //[?]Pinched o your wey[/?] Margaret.// F1005: //[laugh]// Ehm, M1004: Use the same word. F1054: //Aye, if if you use it just say it ower again.// F1005: //Ehm// freezin. F1054: And the opposite o that, hot? F1005: Ehm, roastin. M1004: Bilin. F1054: I-i- is that, cause I've heard that used in kind of anger as well. Do you mean it for hot? M1004: Oh aye, ye can bile wi anger; that means ye- ye're red hot, ye're, //ye're// F1006: //Steamin.// M1004: steamin, aye. Steamin wi anger, bilin wi anger is quite a good one. But also bilin, if you're out in the sunsh-, it's really really warm, the sweat's pourin off you, you say you're bilin, aye. F1006: I just tend to say hot, warm. F1054: Yeah, okay, that's fine. Eh, an an if you can't think of anything else just say, "I don't think there's another one I would use", just don't try //to say what that means.// F1005: //Eh, roastin.// They would use that. F1054: Okay, good. Ehm, "unwell"? F1006: Ill? Feeling sick. M1004: Mmhm. F1006: I think that's about it. F1054: Anything else? F1005: Poorly. F1054: Oh. That's a good one. M1004: It is, yes, we use that a lot without thinking, I woulda, I hadn't realised that but yes, I do use it a lot, feelin poorly. F1054: Mmhm. Good, ehm, [tut] let's see, Pleased, annoyed, hot, cold, tired. Good. To "throw" something. F1006: Ehm F1054: If you were saying, do you have bairns, Margaret? F1005: Uh-huh. F1054: You do. If you were saying "Boys, or girls, will you throw your laundry downstairs", what would you say? F1005: Toss. F1054: That's a good one. M1004: Chuck. Fling. F1005: [inaudible] [laugh] F1006: I'd say throw. [laugh] F1054: [inaudible] That's fine. No problem at all. Ehm, "to play truant". Well, Ann never did that, so //[inaudible].// F1005: //Ehm// F1006: //[laugh]// //Well// F1005: //dog.// F1006: I was too good to play truant. [laugh] F1054: Dog. F1005: Dog school. F1006: Oh M1004: Aye that's the common word for it, dog. F1005: //Aye.// F1006: //Uh-huh// //I hear that used.// M1004: //To dog off, dog off.// F1054: Yeah, you wouldnae say "skip" or "skive"? M1004: //Not with school, [inaudible].// F1005: //It's usually// F1006: //I've heard that used too, I think, but// M1004: //Ah we didnae [inaudible].// F1005: //dog school. [laugh]// //No that we ever done that. [laugh]// M1004: //Plunk.// F1005: Aye. M1004: //Plunk.// F1006: //[inaudible]// M1004: Plunk school, plunk or dog. F1054: Is that a common word nooadays, or is it speaking more of your era? M1004: I can only speak for my age group and it was [laugh] very common, yes, aye. F1054: Okay, ehm what about "to sleep"? F1006: Mm to s- //Sleep.// M1004: //I just usually say go to sleep, aye, I cannae think of another one for that.// F1005: //Sleep.// //I cannae think. Go to yer kip.// M1004: //Y-y- get yer kip, go to yer kip.// F1005: Aye. Eh, to go to yer kip F1006: [inaudible] F1005: is aw I can think aboot for sleep. Ehm M1004: Aye, you do say "I'm gonna kip doon for a couple o hours." F1005: Forty winks? Forty winks. F1054: Is that what you, word you use typically? F1005: It's just like a wee nap in the afternoon. //[laugh] Loads o them, aye, naw I've no got [inaudible] kip. Forty winks.// M1004: //Another one? [inaudible]// F1005: Mm, nap, [inaudible] F1054: Doze off? F1006: Doze off. I suppose people say for a short nap. F1054: Mm. F1006: I mean I, I'm afraid I can't do that. I need to just, ma bed at night and that's it. [laugh] M1004: Yer pit. F1054: //Oh what's that?// F1005: //Yer// M1004: Yer bed, ye go to yer pit, that's yer bed. F1005: Aye. M1004: That is a very common one, are you goin to yer pit? Aye. F1006: [cough] F1054: Good, yeah, that's a nice one. Eh, what about "to play a game"? F1006: [laugh] To play a game. M1004: I cannae think o anything for playin a game, I just. //Aye.// F1006: //All you're doin is play a game.// F1054: //Okay.// M1004: //I I really cannae think o anythin for that.// F1054: And "to hit hard"? F1006: Thump? Thump. F1054: Good. M1004: Blooter. F1006: [laugh] F1054: That's interestin. But how would you use that, George? M1004: Eh, common one is if you kick a ball hard, you talk about blooterin the ball. But if someone's bein cheeky to ye, ye'll say to them, "Watch it or you'll get blootered". F1005: Mm alright. F1054: //Cause I a- also heard blootered meaning drunk, meaning drunk.// M1004: //Aye.// Naw. Eh, yes, yeah yes, it also refers to a drunk, don't know why. F1054: Mmhm. M1004: I have heard that, you know, if you go oot and you get blootered that means you get very very drunk. I suppose it comes from the fact that if eh if eh someone were to blooter somebody they'd become rubber-legged and hit the deck the same as you would if you were drinkin, so I suppose it comes from the same thing. F1054: Mmhm. That's interestin. [inaudible] //ehm// F1005: //I can't remember the word again, [laugh] what was it?// F1006: //[laugh]// F1054: //Hit hard.// F1005: //[laugh]// //Eh, to batter.// F1054: //Hm// M1004: Stotter. F1005: Stotter. [laugh] Punch. [laugh] F1054: Ba- how would you use "batter" and "stotter"? F1005: I don't know. Just to batter somebody, if you're gonnae hit them. F1054: So it'd be somebody rather than a thing? F1005: Ah but you could ehm M1004: Sto- stotter has two meanins. F1054: Mmhm. M1004: Ye can stotter someone or you can call somebody a wee stotter. F1054: Mm. M1004: //And// F1006: //[laugh]// F1054: What's a wee stotter? M1004: A wee stotter is a a good-looking young lady, F1006: [laugh] M1004: is a wee stotter. I suppose you might refer to a good-looking young man as a stotter. F1005: //Ehm// F1006: //Mm// Don't think so. //Never heard of it.// F1005: //A stotter.// //Stud maybe?// M1004: //You've no, you've no heard that one?// //[laugh]// F1054: //[laugh]// F1005: //Stud. [laugh]// F1006: //[laugh]// M1004: //Never heard o a wee stotter?// F1005: //I've heard o a// //stotter but I didnae know it was// M1004: //Oh aye, pff.// We k- yes, it's a, aye, just say, a wee stotter goin by, you know? F1054: //Nice one. That's a good one, I like that. I've heard that, I, they say that in Edinburgh, I think, as well, they were tellin me yesterday. Interestin.// F1006: //[laugh]// F1054: Ehm, well speakin of [inaudible] Oh! Do you need to get that? F1005: //[inaudible] machine, sorry, it's ma washin// F1006: //[laugh]// M1004: //She's not.// F1005: //[?]machine[/?].// M1004: She's a producer. F1005: Aye. F1054: Anyway, ehm, what about, speaking of attractive, what other words would you use for "attractive" in the "getting personal" section? F1005: Ehm, good-lookin. F1006: Bonny? Bonny. F1054: Cause ther- there's "bonny" and there's the one you said. F1006: Bonny. Bonny braw, you know, //I suppose.// F1054: //What's that?// F1006: Ehm, nice-looking. Ehm, F1054: And would you say, "Oh, she's bonny braw"? F1006: Mm, can't say I've actually used it myself, but I've heard, you know, it being used regular. I've used bonny, but maybe not bonny braw together, but //I know they are.// F1054: //What does// what does "braw" mean? F1006: Just lovely. F1054: Good. What about "attractive"? M1004: I cannae think o anything except "a right stotter". Back to the word stotter, you know, cannae think o anythin else. F1054: Yeah. F1005: Eh, stunnin. F1054: That's a more modern word? F1005: Uh-huh. //That's me showin ma age, and George an aw. [laugh]// F1054: //[laugh]// //[laugh]// M1004: //Cracker.// F1005: //[laugh]// F1006: Oh right. M1004: A cracker, a wee cracker, aye. [laugh] F1005: Wee beauty. //[laugh]// M1004: //Margaret's a wee cracker. [laugh]// F1054: What about ehm "insane"? F1005: Eh mad. //Aff yer heid. [laugh]// M1004: //[laugh]// F1006: //[laugh] Crazy.// Crazy. Mad as well, I would have F1054: Do you have anything for that one, or the same, George? M1004: Cannae think offhand, eh, no. If I come up with something I'll shout it out. F1054: Okay. What about ehm "unattractive", the opposite of attractive? F1005: Eh, ugly. F1006: Ugly, ugly. Ehm, M1004: Pure rotten. //[laugh]// F1054: //That's a good one.// F1005: //Pure rotten.// M1004: [laugh] //[laugh]// F1054: //And i- can you say that if you're talking about a person,// F1005: //[laugh]// F1054: when you say pure rotten? M1004: Yes. But I won't tell you who I would be talkin aboot. F1006: [laugh] F1054: And wo- would you say that of of other things apart from a person, or not? M1004: Yes, yeah, yeah. But eh, yeah. F1054: Okay, ehm, [tut] what about, oh "left-handed"? F1005: Corrie-handed. F1054: Yeah. M1004: Sinister. //[laugh]// F1054: //Is that w- is that no, is that at school, [inaudible]// F1006: //That's Latin.// M1004: [exhale] F1054: Did you hear it used, where did you hear the word sinister used for left-handed? M1004: It probably does come from school. But it's either sinister or corrie-fisted. Because eh you see in the old days, total total digression here, in the old days just think of it, they built the turrets, the stairs in the turrets goin up to the old castles, they built them so that they could be de- defended by people that were fightin with their right hand. So that the Nor- when they were, castles were bein attacked, right-handers couldnae fight goin up round the turret. So all you needed to do was send up a bunch o lefties, and they'd be able to win the battle. F1054: That's really interestin. That's, //you should have [inaudible] George.// F1006: //I'd have said corrie-fisted.// F1054: You said something about Latin. F1006: Well sinister comes from Latin. M1004: Sinistro. F1006: It's, I think it's what left for, it means left, does it not? M1004: Yes. F1006: If I remember right. Getting a row from my old Latin teacher //if I don't! [laugh]// M1004: //[inaudible] in Italian.// F1054: So g- I mean, some, in some ways left-handed folk were made out to be deviants, M1004: //Yes.// F1006: //Well that's why// years ago they would, children who were le- ort- who would have been left-handed were not allowed to do that at school, they were actually encouraged to use their right hand, whereas nowadays that's not a problem. //[inaudible]// M1004: //That's right, the school,// The school couldnae go out and buy, you know, two hundred pairs of left-handed scissors. Or left-handed fountain pens. F1005: [laugh] F1054: So they kind of got made into something kind of bad? //Are you left-handed, I mean?// M1004: //[laugh] No.// F1005: //No.// F1006: //No.// M1004: Ambidextrous. F1054: [laugh] What about what about "rich"? F1005: Ehm F1054: Think of somebody you know that's really well off, could be Posh and Becks. F1005: Well off, an //erm// F1054: //How would you descr- describe Posh and Becks?// //[laugh]// M1004: //[inaudible]// F1005: //one that I don't want to say. [laugh] Ehm// F1006: //[laugh]// F1005: loaded. F1054: That's a good one. M1004: Rollin in it. F1054: That's a nice one, yeah. F1006: Rich. [laugh] Ehm well-off, rich, that's F1054: Do you ever say "minted"? F1005: //Aye, minted, that's a good one.// F1006: //No.// F1054: [inaudible] //I- is that what you hear, round about here?// F1005: //Aye.// //Well I've heard it in the past.// M1004: //I I've heard it but no.// F1006: No, I've M1004: Rollin in it's usually what we, you know, he's rollin in it or she's rollin in it. F1054: Okay, good. Ehm, what about the opposite o that, "poor"? F1006: Skint. F1005: Skint. F1006: [laugh] Ehm, F1054: Anything else you're M1004: //Broke, I'd have said skint or broke. That's the two words I'd use.// F1006: //[inaudible]// F1054: Think about folk you know that are no well off and what would you //call them?// M1004: //Aye, you say they're broke// //or they're skint.// F1006: //Yes.// F1054: Your bairns, are they always complainin about bein F1005: Bein M1004: Doon to their last. F1005: Doon to their last pennies. F1054: What was that? F1005: Doon to ma ma last penny. F1054: Yeah. Ehm, what about er "drunk"? George? M1004: [cough] Well, we've got blootered again. We've got er, I'm trying to, I've gone, I'm sorry, I I've just gone on them. Er, drunk. //Stotious.// F1005: //Steamin.// //Steamin.// M1004: //Steamin, stotious, that's a that's quite a common one we use.// Eh staggerin, eh fleein. Fleein. //Yeah?// F1005: //Mmhm.// F1054: An is there different ways you'd use those different words for drunk? M1004: Oh yeah. Oh yeah. There's somebody, there's a happy drunk, you say somebody's happy. //That means they're just// F1005: //I don't know if I should use this one, pissed// //as a fart. [laugh]// M1004: //Aye.// Good one. F1054: And n- now, cause I know you can get like happy drunk, right, what would the word for that be versus really agressive, versus totally comatose? F1005: Ehm, //uh-huh.// M1004: //Well, fightin dr- you do just say fightin drunk.// You say fightin drunk, you get happy drunks and you get fightin drunks and you get si- [laugh] singin drunks, you know? It's F1054: Ann, got any there? F1006: Mm, well a happy drunk's usually, I'd say, a harmless drunk, //as opposed to a fightin drunk.// M1004: //Yes, somebody that's// somebody that's steaming, somebody that's steaming is usually happy. //That's not a term that's used for somebody that's er, steamin and fleein arenae fightin drunks.// F1005: //Mmhm.// M1004: Would you agree wi that, Margaret? F1005: Or legless, did we use that? M1004: Legless. [laugh] F1005: Legless. //[laugh]// M1004: //That's a good one.// F1054: //[inaudible]// F1005: //That's somebody that just cannae find their way back. [laugh]// F1054: What about the word you mentioned, stotious? M1004: Stotious, yeah. Stotious means paralytic. //Have we used// F1006: //Completely out of it.// M1004: //paralytic?// F1005: //No.// M1004: Paralytic is just out the game. If you're paralytic you're rubber-legged, you just cannae you just cannae move. You don't know the time o day, you don't know where you are. You cannae stand, you just lie there in the gutter. F1005: You're mair or less unconscious. F1054: //[inaudible]// M1004: //Yes.// //Comatose.// F1005: //Mair or less, it's the ne-. Comatose.// //Aye.// M1004: //Comatose, there's another one.// //[laugh]// F1054: //Drunk's a good one, we've got so many words for drunk. I wonder why that is, as a Scottish nation, yeah?// Erm, what about "pregnant"? Ladies? I'll start with the ladies first. [inhale] F1006: Just pregnant. [laugh] I wouldn't know other F1005: No, don't you start! //[Er], bun in the oven.// M1004: //Th- that's that's the only one I know of.// F1005: Er //Up the, up the spout.// M1004: //Up the spout.// //Aye, I'd forgotten that one, eh.// F1005: //Aye.// [inaudible] M1004: In the, oh, what is it they say? She's in the, in the club. F1005: In the club. //Aye.// M1004: //That was it, in the club.// //Aye. [laugh]// F1005: //That's a good yin.// M1004: [laugh] Cannae think o any more. F1054: Up the duff? F1005: Up the duff, aye. //Aye, I've heard that, I've heard it right enough.// M1004: //That's no one I'd use. Aye.// F1054: So [?]none of you really[/?] use that? M1004: No. F1054: Okay, ehm oh let's see, insane, [inaudible] rich, "moody". What's comin to your mind, Ann, you're lookin //puzzled. [inaudible]// F1006: //Nothing. [laugh] Moody!// F1054: That that's in- F1006: Puzzled, puzzled. No, b-, moody, mmhm. I think just moody, I can't think of anything that we use that would cover that. F1054: That's fine, absolutely fine. F1005: Sulkin. Sulkin. F1054: That's quite good. M1004: In the sulk, takin a sulk. Er, cannae think o any others, but sul- if you're ta-, if you- in the huff. Well it's no quite, that disnae maybe need to be moody. Cause moody's F1054: Mm. M1004: you can be in the huff withoot bein moody, couldn't you? [laugh] //[laugh]// F1054: //Okay, brilliant, erm let's see, "to rain lightly", what it's doin today?// F1005: To drizzle. F1006: Drizzle. F1005: Drizzle. F1054: It's a nice way you say that, how do you M1004: //[cough]// F1006: //Drizzle.// F1054: Slightly different; yo- you kind of say "drizzle", and that's more //Drizzle.// F1006: //Drizzle.// F1054: Slightly different. //[laugh]// M1004: //[laugh]// F1005: //Drizzle. [laugh]// F1006: //[laugh]// //[laugh]// F1054: //I'm just interested in the difference, there's no one that's nicer than the other or any better than the other, they're just slightly different.// M1004: //[laugh]// F1005: //[laugh]// F1054: What would you say, George? M1004: I'd say drizzlin, aye, drizzle or drizzlin. F1054: What aboot when it's rainin heavily? //Really raining.// F1005: //Eh// cat and dogs. F1006: Eh, stottin could be used, again, stotting. //It's stotting off the kerb and the pavement.// F1054: //[inaudible]// That's a really common one, isn't it? M1004: Yeah, stottin, yeah. We say the rain, //aye, it's stottin, aye.// F1005: //Some people would say [?]in Castlemilk[/?].// It's pissin down. //I keep usin that word! [laugh]// F1054: //[laugh]// M1004: //Don't worry aboot it.// F1006: //[laugh]// F1005: [claps] [inhale] //[exhale]// F1054: //Is that, is that a word you think that folk in your local community use?// M1004: Oh yeah. F1005: Mmhm, aye it is. M1004: For everything. F1054: Is that like unique to a part of where yo- Glasgow or is it [inaudible]? F1005: Don't know. It's just quite commonly used. M1004: All over, yeah. F1054: Mmhm. M1004: It's all over Glasgow. [laugh] //Very common. Sorry.// F1054: //I'm just interested in case, oh, aye.// What was I saying, erm what about er the "toilet"? Words for toilet? F1005: Er the loo. M1004: Get the boys ontae it. The lavvy. The bog. The cludgie. [laugh] F1005: //The bog, is that what you said?// F1006: //Just loo, or toilet.// //Loo I think's got more common over the last twenty years possibly.// M1004: //[laugh]// Never heard cludgie? F1005: Nope. M1004: Oh dear. F1054: //Cludgie's a good one.// F1006: //That's an old one.// //An old one.// F1054: //Would// M1004: //Cludgie's a good one, yes.// F1054: folk actually use that, do you think? M1004: Well I still use it, yeah, use it wi the children, so the children'll be usin it. Yeah. //[cough]// F1054: //Wha- what it, what, but what words do you notice, George, that you use that your bairns do and don't use?// What age is yer bairns? M1004: Nine and six. Eh I couldnae actually, I I cannae think o anythin off-hand, but I don't know that the-, oh they they use they use words like "fart", //and "keech".// F1005: //[inaudible]// //[inaudible]// M1004: //[inaudible]// They do yes, don't they, yeah. F1054: What's keech? M1004: Keech's a jobbie. //Oh.// F1005: //[laugh]// F1054: Ah that's a good one. M1004: I don't like this "number ones" and "number twos", let's be straight with them, you know? Real words. //So er, they// F1054: //Words, bairns love words like that as well, don't they?// F1005: //Mm// M1004: do, yes. //The-// F1054: //Anything lavatorial is// //them.// M1004: //That's correct,// yes, they're both writing stories for school just now, on the s- er, what is it, one's doing Capt- Captain Toilet Cleaner, [laugh], so it has a lot o these words in it, [laugh]. //[laugh]// F1054: //They're probably tappin you up for a few words, are they George?// M1004: Probably, yes, yes. F1054: Okay, ehm, what about the "narrow walkway between or alongside buildings"? F1006: Lane, lane. //That's mm.// F1005: //Pathway.// M1004: Alley or lane's the words, aye. We'd mostly, I think most here, we'd, most in Glasgow we'd call it a lane. F1054: Mm. I suppose you live in a nice //detached house here, there are a lot of flats in Glasgow.// M1004: //[cough]// F1005: //Uh-huh.// F1006: Well if you go up like, as you walk up, is it Buchanan Street or Elmbank Street, towards Sauchiehall Street, you get Bath Lane and Sauchiehall S- Lane, M1004: That's //lanes.// F1006: //you know,// //because the main roads are Bath Street and Sauchiehall Street.// F1005: //[inaudible]// F1006: So if you look at the side lanes, they are actually called Bath Lane and Sauchiehall Lane. //Lane.// M1004: //[cough]// //Alleys.// F1054: //So they're not wynds or// a close or anything? M1004: Well, a close isnae a lane. A cl- //In Glasgow,// F1006: //But in Glasgow we used to have things like Hatter's Row.// F1054: What was that? F1006: Hatter's Row, that, it existed, oh, real before my time //even, in Bridgeton.// M1004: //We've got a lot o rows.// //They're still g- they're still they're still namin streets rows.// F1006: //Yes, but the Ha- yes.// //Well there's Monteith Row up there at the end of the Green.// M1004: //There's one called after my dad.// [CENSORED: surname and street name] Row. It's just opened a couple of years ago. There's, row's quite a common Glasgow name for a F1005: Street. M1004: No, it's just a row o houses. But eh, F1054: As in R.O.W.? M1004: //Yes.// F1006: //Yes.// M1004: But eh I mean a close is something you go up to, you go up the stairs to get to your houses, it's not a not a public thoroughfare, a close. Even a common close isnae a public thoroughfare. [laugh] F1054: //Mm.// F1005: //Ehm.// F1054: Now, that's it. Okay. What about ehm the main room in the house, with a TV in. You probably don't have a TV in //here.// F1006: //Living room.// Living room. M1004: The living room, aye. F1005: Probably just the living room, lounge. F1054: Mmhm. Sitting room? M1004: //I've heard it ca- I've heard it called the sittin room but we really just call it the livin room.// F1005: //[inaudible]// F1006: //[inaudible]// The living room mainly. F1054: And what about the long soft seat in the main room? F1005: Sofa. //Couch.// F1006: //[laugh]// F1054: Mmhm, what about that F1005: Couch. M1004: Orange box. //No, sorry, sorry, that was a joke.// F1054: //[laugh]// F1005: //[laugh]// M1004: //Eh, [laugh] we don't have, we don't have long soft seats.// F1006: //Couch.// M1004: [laugh] Eh, couch. F1006: Couch, yes. F1054: Okay, good. Ehm, [tut], main room of the house, rain lightly, rain heavily, toilet, narrow walkway, what about "running water, smaller than a river"? F1005: Stream. F1054: You're the first person I've heard say that [?]Margaret[/?] it's interesting. F1006: A stream or a burn. M1004: That's the two I would use, stream or burn. Yeah. F1054: Well you're livin right by the river here, //so.// M1004: //Aye.// It's no quite a burn, but there's a lot o burns, aye. [cough] Most o them around Glasgow are all called burns. //[?]Particularly[/?]// F1054: //Tell me, tell me about the words that are associated with the river that are er very Glaswegian.// F1006: //The Fisherman's.// M1004: [inhale] [exhale] [laugh] There are, there are words that aren't very very Glaswegian. But you find that there are words associated with the river that change from Glasgow Green, down into the harbour, down to the coast, different words, different places. If you take the word "punt", P.U.N.T, A punt here is a small single rowing boat. A punt down in Cambridge is a boat you stand on and shove wi a pole. A punt down in the harbour here, just just down below the weir, a punt is a eh, what we call a barge, which is a floating, a floating square object that you just put stuff on and you've got to tow it by another boat. That's a punt down in the harbour. Up here we call it a barge. A barge down there is a motorised vessel. So there's words that are peculiar, but it's the same down in London too, because they've got barges and punts, nu-, but they're all different. So you actually find all over Britain there's river words that exist but they have different meanings in different rivers. I mean [cough], talking about accents, I wa- I I saw somebody in a restaurant in Durham, I went up to him and I said eh "You're a Thames lighterman, aren't you?" And I knew that he was a Thames waterman, a lighterman just because of the words he was usin, and the way he was using the words. There's, oh there's a lot o words associated wi rivers. //Aye.// F1054: //Tell me// the differences between Glasgow city and doon the coast slightly, and aw the stuff you mentioned. M1004: Well I'm just thinkin o that word, that, just, ju- the punt and the barge, but there are others, I couldn't, er, I'd need to think about them. It's quite difficult but, [cough], excuse me. But there are words that mean totally different things. It's all b- it's all water and boat terminology, you've got to be careful where you use them, you know? //I'm sorry, I ca- my mind's gone blank, I cannae think o any// F1054: //No, that- that was a great example, that was// //[inaudible]// M1004: //[cough] But you've got "eddies".// I mean, that's not words, that's the same all over, "eddy" just means when the water swirls round, you know? "Hursts", now that's a good Glasgow word, a good Scottish word, "hursts", H.U.R.S.T.S. Now that means, eh, that's really where the water is running downhill, which some people would call, not quite, not a waterfall, just running over stones, we call that a hurst. Some folk would call it a weir, some folk wo-, I don't know what else they would call it. Just, it's just known as a hurst. You come doon a hurst. That's a very peculiar one [?]it is[/?]. F1054: That's very interestin, it's a good one here. Ehm, any other words associated with the work you do that are very Glaswegian? Like bein a librarian, or anything? F1006: Well I sometimes go out and give talks about George's work, you know, to Guilds and Rotary Clubs, round tables, and often if I'm describing the state of lifebelts flung into the river, when they come out, when George collects them out of the river, they are so mochit, so filthy, dirty, in other words, and covered in glaur. It's a sticky, horrible, greasy substance that needs chemical cleaners to take the dirt off them, I believe, so, I think "mochit" and "glaur" are very expressive words to use to try and get through to people just the state these are in when they come out of the river. F1054: "Glaur", that's an interestin one, never heard that before. Anything associated with, Margaret, you feel strongly about, any words that you, things you'd call in the kitchen, you'd cry things in the kitchen that might be typically Glaswegian? Or in the house? F1005: Ehm, cutlery. Mm, let me think. F1054: Let me think, ehm, words for a brush or sweeper? F1005: A broom. F1054: Or words for rooms. What would you call that thing, tha- or the place where you make the food? M1004: //[inaudible]// F1005: //Kitchen, well it used to, it used to be the scullery.// //Is that them? Mm. [other people arrive in the room]// F1054: //Aye, I think, that's them.// F1006: I keep saying Glasgow Na- Scottish Nationalists, I'm the Glasgow Green nationalist. [laugh] Ehm. F1054: You grew up on Glasgow Green? F1006: Yes. F1054: Explain where it is in relation to the rest of //Glasgow, [inaudible].// F1006: //Well it's the largest park in the city of// Glasgow, but I never had a neighbour in my life, till seven years ago, never had traffic passing the front door, never had erm er, like school friends and that, I guess I was a bit of a tomboy because the whole class of boys could come home with George, but parents didn't like their girls coming home, even though Father would say he'd make sure they got home safely. So I tended to be maybe, as I say, more a tomboy, because I was playin wi George and all his pals. F1054: Yeah. F1006: It made us very much a close-knit family, I think. F1054: [inaudible] the a lot of the words what you u- //yeah.// F1006: //Yes, which I feel the// the normal Glaswegians would use possibly, I wasn't hearing as a youngster, really, //because we were, we were so i-// F1054: //Where was your, where was your language// influences comin from? F1006: Sorry? F1054: Where were your language influences coming from? M1004: //[inaudible]// F1006: //Well Father was born and brought up in Bridgeton and my mother was just over// M1004: I think we all want one. F1006: ehm near the city centre. I mean she was born just, funnily enough, behind the Mi- Mitchell Library where she was born. And then eventually Gallowgate, so it was Glasgow centre, but I mean she came down here, married Father, when she was only twenty-one. So, so she was here really the largest part of her life. Ehm, //Here we are. Thi-// M1004: //We're in here!// F1054: Ehm, let's go for the familial stuff. What would you call your mum? M1004: Mother. F1006: Mummy. F1054: [other people enter] Now, you guys have no got to listen, like, you've got to talk among yourselves and no [?]pinchi-[/?] words fae this F1006: Mummy. [laugh] F1005: Eh, ma. F1054: What about grandmother? M1004: Granny. F1006: Granny. F1005: Nana. M1004: The Duchess. F1006: Oh yes, Mother's mother was the Duchess. F1054: That right, yes. Was that a popular one, do you think, or? Can I just get you to come in a tiny bit? M1004: //I don't know, I don't know but she was// F1006: //No, I never heard any- I didn't hear anybody else using it. I think it was unique to// M1004: she was known, all over the area, not just by the family, she was known as "the Duchess". And up until he died, her, one of her sons, never called her Mother, he just called her the Duchess. F1054: Interesting. And eh what about "grandfather"? M1004: Grandad. Granpa. F1006: Grandad. F1005: Eh, Papa. Papa. F1054: That's a popular one, ehm "friend"? M1004: Pal. F1006: Pal. M1004: Chum. Chum. Buddy. F1054: That's quite a bit a male thing, isn't it? What would you call your female friend, Margaret? F1005: Just pal. F1054: And the pronunciation's quite distinct there, kinda "pal" isn't it, rather than "pal"? Pal. F1005: Pal. F1054: Ehm, what about "female partner"? F1006: Female? F1054: Partner. M1004: That's just really for me, innit? F1006: Just partner. M1004: [cough] The wife. F1006: [laugh] M1004: "She who, she who must be obeyed", no the wi- the wife. Er. F1054: And if ye werenae married tae her? M1004: Her indoors. //I would still call her that.// F1006: //[laugh]// //[inaudible]// M1004: //If I wisnae married tae her, what would I call her? No, er, I don't know, just er,// //Don't know. Girlfriend.// F1005: //Fiancée.// Fiancée, girlfriend, M1004: Pal. F1054: And if, a male partner? M1004: [laugh] //[participant is speaking to other people in the room]// F1005: //Ehm. Pardon? [laugh]// M1004: John, John, [inaudible] F1054: If you were tellin your friends a story about what your husband had been doing, what would you, how would you refer tae him? And they didnae know your husband's name. F1005: Er, fiancé. Ehm Let me think. M1004: I ca-, I ca-, I sometimes refer to her in front o the weans as "the auld Dutch". But that's coming from F1006: Granny, //yes.// M1004: //ma granny, you know?// F1006: [laugh] M1004: But the weans will call her that, [laugh], yes. F1005: Yes. F1054: And er what about er if th- two people were living together unmarried, what would what would the partners be there? M1004: Their "bidie-in". F1054: Okay, ehm, "word for something whose name you've forgotten"? M1004: //[phone rings]// F1006: //Wh- "what-do-you-ma-call-it" [laugh]// M1004: Hello? F1005: Ehm //just something.// M1004: //Hello?// [NOTE: on phone] You're speaking with him. F1054: Ehm, and "young person in cheap trendy clothes and jewellery". M1004: [NOTE: on phone] Eh, can I can I can I stop you there, sir, this is lifeboat station that works with Strathclyde Police, you'll need to contact [inaudible]. F1054: Okay, ehm, "young person in cheap trendy clothes and jewellery"? M1004: A wee gallus bachle. F1054: Oh, that's a good one. M1004: [someone else in room says 'flash'] Flash! [laugh] F1054: Ex- explain that George. M1004: Flash Harry, aye, yeah yeah yeah. F1006: [laugh] M1004: Just that almost a derogatory term, it's er, a right wee, you know, they're just, you know? //Er// F1054: //What's the [inaudible], "gallus", what's that?// M1004: Gallus is flea-bitten an ragged. So it's more or less sayin although they've got fancy clothes on, it's s- sayin the opposite to what they're doin, you know, er, instead of sayin their fancy clothes, you say their clothes are flea-bitten and ra- ragged. And a bachle's just a derogatory term for someone that cannae walk right or, you know, there's something wrang wi them, you know? You know, it's eh, you know, I've just thought of another one for eh partner, yeah, the ni- "nippy sweetie". //Come on, you must have called somebody a nippy sweetie.// F1054: //Wha- what [inaudible]// F1005: Well I have. M1004: [laugh] F1054: I don't know what that means. M1004: //[laugh]// F1005: //Wee sweetie wife.// M1004: Nippy sweetie. [someone else in room says 'somebody somebody that's very cheeky and very very very thingamy tae you, abrupt, abrasive'] [someone else in room says 'somebody you couldnae kid wi'] A lot of folk call their wives wee nippy sweeties because they've gottae be home at certain times for their tea and they've gottae dae this and they've gottae dae that. And they say, "she's a right wee nippy sweetie". Gotta do what they're told. She's got them under their thumb. F1006: Somebody else at the door, George. F1005: It's busy the day. F1054: //Ehm,// M1004: //He's watching the dog. [laugh] Sorry.// F1054: what aboot a, what aboot a kit of tools? M1004: I just cll, I just call it a tool-box. F1054: That's fine, there- no worries if you can't think of anything else, that's fine. Shaking heads there. Erm, what aboot "baby"? F1005: Wean. F1006: Baby. F1005: Er, just wean. M1004: The wee man, or the wee yin, or aw that. Aye. F1054: And what aboot if it's a girl? M1004: The wee yin. That's, aye. //A wee lassie.// F1054: //Explain "wean" to me.// M1004: Yeah. Sorry? F1054: Explain "wean" to me. M1004: [cough] A wean is, a wean's not really a, I don't it's not really a baby, a wean's a toddler, you know, it's aye, it's just gettin to the stage where it's startin to walk, that's a wean, you know, it's F1054: And the the baby is, the baby is different, is it? M1004: Aye, a baby, a baby's different, a baby's different, but I cannae think o a name for a baby. And that's a wean as opposed to "away and jump", you know? F1054: What about er, "child's soft shoes worn for PE"? F1005: Eh, sandshoes. [interruption from other people in the room] Youse be quiet. F1054: You can't confer, this is this is a like a quiz show, there's no conferring. [laugh] //[laugh]// F1006: //Sandshoes, that's it, sandshoes.// M1004: Sandshoes, sannies. F1005: Sannies. M1004: Though I have heard them referred to more recently as "bafties". That s- seems to be comin in. //Yes. No, I'm not, that is// F1005: //Do you make yer ain words up, George?// M1004: I bet you can conferm that, confirm that. Conferm? Confirm that. F1006: Children are using that, maybe. F1054: What was that? F1006: Sandshoes, I'm saying, maybe he hears his children using that word. F1054: That's right, if you've got young uns. M1004: I was also, see, for ma sins, I was twenty-six years in teaching. //So.// F1005: //You got exposed to quite a bit there.// F1054: //What aboot "clothes"?// M1004: //A lot o language, aye.// Yer jouks. F1005: Mm? I don't know that one. M1004: That can mean both, can't it? //Mean yer fists and it can mean what you're wearin.// F1006: //[inaudible] fists.// //I've never heard it clothing.// M1004: //Clobber, cla-// F1005: //Yer claes.// //Yer claes.// M1004: //clabber, clabber, clabber.// F1054: Anything else, Ann? No. F1006: I can't think of anything else. [laugh] F1054: Okay, we're nearly there, "trousers"? M1004: Drawers. F1005: Pants. F1006: Trousers. F1054: That's great. M1004: Well I mean I few years ago, I'd have said ma flares. F1005: [laugh] F1054: But you're so up to the minute, George, you're no longer wearing those. M1004: Ma drainpipes. No. F1006: Are they not back in again? [laugh] F1005: No, it's bootlegs noo. F1054: //Oh is it?// F1006: //Oh!// //Oh// M1004: //Is that what you wear when you're playing tennis?// F1005: //It's the bootleg.// //[laugh]// F1054: //[laugh]// F1006: //[laugh]// F1054: That's us been right round the ehm [inaudible] M1004: Galluses. No no that's that's //that comes fae// F1005: //Kegs are shoes, innit?// Kegs? Is it? M1004: Galluses were sometimes referred to for a while as troosers because it came fae the galluses you wore to haud yer, you know, wi yer troosers, to haud your socks and things. F1006: Yeah, that was it. I thought it was "galoshes" for wellington boots. F1054: Great. //[inaudible]// M1004: //I have tae mention the word "pochle".// Po-, you know, you use pochle. Aye, tae pochle something. Pochle means, h- how do you describe it, if you if you rig something, if you iIf you could think up, if you could f- find out what wo- arrange for your numbers to come up in the lottery, you'd be pochlin it. //Cheatin, aye.// F1005: //Cheatin.// M1004: Pochle, pochle's a lovely Scots word. F1054: That's great. Any other words that you'd really like to share, that you're really fond of, that you think are quite distinctive? F1005: Er, "gies a", that's a horrible word, innit? F1006: Drookit. F1054: What's that? F1005: It's, if you if you want want something you'll say, "gonnae you give me that", "gie me that", "gie's it". F1054: And you mentioned one. F1006: Drookit, you come in soaking wet if you've been out in heavy rain. Like, [inaudible] ehm. F1054: Anything else? M1004: [tut] There was, there was a couple I'm tryin to think of, when you were talking about "glaur" and F1006: "Mochit" and "glaur", I think are excellent, I like them. [laugh] M1004: It's weather, it's weather again that I use regular when I go out in the boat and that's, it's gone, sorry. F1054: No worries at all. Can I just get you to introduce yourselves one more time, tell me where you're from and how long you've lived there. F1005: Ehm, Margaret [CENSORED: surname], I work for the Glasgow Green and I've stayed here most o ma life, in Glasgow. F1054: What part o Glasgow are ye from? F1005: Ehm, Castlemilk. M1004: George [CENSORED: surname], I'm the lifeboat officer at the Glasgow Humane Society, which is in the Glasgow Green, and er I b- I was born here, I'm still living in the same house as I was born in, sixty-one years ago. F1006: Ann [CENSORED: surname], George's sister, born in the same house in Glasgow Green but now living two miles away on the riverside, on where, what was the Festival Park area now. Ehm, in a flat there. And I was a librarian with Glasgow Public Libraries. F1054: That's us. Great. This work is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. The SCOTS Project and the University of Glasgow do not necessarily endorse, support or recommend the views expressed in this document. Information about document and author: Audio Audio audience Adults (18+): General public: Informed lay people: Specialists: For gender: Mixed Audience size: 1000+ Audio awareness & spontaneity Speaker awareness: Aware Degree of spontaneity: Spontaneous Special circumstances surrounding speech: Spontaneous but discussing a list of words they had thought about previously. Audio footage information Year of recording: 2004 Recording person id: 1060 Size (min): 42 Size (mb): 162 Audio footage series/collection information Part of series: Contained in: BBC Voices Recordings - www.bbc.co.uk/voices Audio medium Radio/audio: Web (e.g. audio webcast): Audio setting Education: Journalism: Recording venue: Private house Geographic location of speech: Glasgow Green, Glasgow Audio relationship between recorder/interviewer and speakers Not previously acquainted: Speakers knew each other: Yes Audio speaker relationships Family members or other close relationship: Friend: Audio transcription information Transcriber id: 718 Year of transcription: 2006 Year material recorded: 2004 Word count: 6693 Audio type Conversation: General description: Conversation centred around a pre-prepared list of words for discussion Participant Participant details Participant id: 1004 Gender: Male Decade of birth: 1940 Educational attainment: University Age left school: 18 Occupation: Officer, Glasgow Humane Society Place of birth: Glasgow Region of birth: Glasgow Birthplace CSD dialect area: Gsw Country of birth: Scotland Place of residence: Glasgow Region of residence: Glasgow Residence CSD dialect area: Gsw Country of residence: Scotland Father's occupation: Officer, Glasgow Humane Society Father's place of birth: Glasgow Father's region of birth: Glasgow Father's birthplace CSD dialect area: Gsw Father's country of birth: Scotland Mother's occupation: Officer, Glasgow Humane Society Mother's place of birth: Glasgow Mother's region of birth: Glasgow Mother's birthplace CSD dialect area: Gsw Mother's country of birth: Scotland Participant Participant details Participant id: 1005 Gender: Female Decade of birth: 1950 Age left school: 15 Upbringing/religious beliefs: Catholicism Occupation: Domestic Place of birth: Scotstoun Region of birth: Glasgow Birthplace CSD dialect area: Gsw Country of birth: Scotland Place of residence: Glasgow Region of residence: Glasgow Residence CSD dialect area: Gsw Country of residence: Scotland Father's occupation: Shipyard worker - painter Father's place of birth: Gorbals Father's region of birth: Glasgow Father's birthplace CSD dialect area: Gsw Father's country of birth: Scotland Languages: Language: English Speak: No Read: Yes Write: Yes Understand: Yes Circumstances: Language: Scots Speak: Yes Read: No Write: No Understand: No Circumstances: Participant Participant details Participant id: 1006 Gender: Female Decade of birth: 1940 Age left school: 19 Occupation: Librarian (retired) Place of birth: Glasgow Region of birth: Glasgow Birthplace CSD dialect area: Gsw Country of birth: Scotland Place of residence: Glasgow Region of residence: Glasgow Residence CSD dialect area: Gsw Country of residence: Scotland Father's occupation: Officer, Glasgow Humane Society Father's place of birth: Glasgow Father's region of birth: Glasgow Father's birthplace CSD dialect area: Gsw Mother's occupation: Housewife Mother's place of birth: Glasgow Mother's region of birth: Glasgow Mother's birthplace CSD dialect area: Gsw Participant Participant details Participant id: 1054